If you have rust issues on your car, I don't know if it's the best platform for a LSX. When I graduate (I'm a full time student too) I'm going to do an LS swap, but I'm going to have to survive with a turbo until then. (Still don't know what turbos feel like, but I should know on Sunday!)

The weight distribution data from V8Roadsters shows that a properly done conversion has surprisingly little penalty in terms of weight. Do it.

My personal concern would be that I'd want to take it on the track. Building enough car around the LSx to be safe at the speeds it could reach would cost more than the conversion. Full cage, tubbed front and rear, 17x10" wheels with brakes to match, wings, the works. I don't have the desire to drive a 500hp 2300# car with 11.75" brakes and a 4 pt roll bar at it's limit.

Also consider, LSx's aren't your Grandfathers truck motor.. They've been almost identical motors from conception to the late 90s until the Gen III SBC where the only retention of design is the bore spacing -- Redesigned from the ground up. All aluminum motors, even though its physically larger don't weigh quite what old iron motors run. You'd be surprised how light they really are.

Lt1's are a steel block and heads on the SS impala. I'm not for sure on the Corvette heads.

Lt1's are kinda over rated in my opinion. The Z28 only had 275hp. You can take a crappy 8:1 350 out of a 76 Chevy. And bolt on a cam, intake, carb, and mill the head and push the same or more.
The big thing on the Lt1 is water flow. They had reversed the flow to hit the heads before the block. Which resulted in cooler heads and more power.

If you came across one cheap, cool. But 3000 dollars in a salvage 350 chevy can make a crazy motor if done right.
But the corvette Lt1's were somewhere around 300hp - 330hp.

LT1 Camaro and LT1 Vettes shared the same cylinder heads, both Aluminum. The Caprice came with an LT1 but had Iron cylinder heads from the L31 IIRC. While they're all good motors, the LS1 is a highly superior design all around and simple bolts on and even low boost is just freaking crazy.

Had a buddy pickup a bone stock 2002 SS Camaro from the showroom floor and run [email protected] with the factory F1 Goodyears. Even Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords found the same results from that car, they were just crazy powerful in complete factory trim, where LT1s are capable motors like *.sbc, they just don't respond the same to similar mods as LSx motors. The cylinder head design plays a HUGE part, camshaft, valve angles, port shape, length, and that crazy *** composite intake manifold.

You can't forget about that horrible failure of a distributor... Optispark..Cam Driven water pump...

LT1 Camaro and LT1 Vettes shared the same cylinder heads, both Aluminum. The Caprice came with an LT1 but had Iron cylinder heads from the L31 IIRC. While they're all good motors, the LS1 is a highly superior design all around and simple bolts on and even low boost is just freaking crazy.

Had a buddy pickup a bone stock 2002 SS Camaro from the showroom floor and run [email protected] with the factory F1 Goodyears. Even Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords found the same results from that car, they were just crazy powerful in complete factory trim, where LT1s are capable motors like *.sbc, they just don't respond the same to similar mods as LSx motors. The cylinder head design plays a HUGE part, camshaft, valve angles, port shape, length, and that crazy *** composite intake manifold.

You can't forget about that horrible failure of a distributor... Optispark..Cam Driven water pump...

Yea, my friends SS impala always seemed to have spark problems. And the placement of the parts sucked.

Also consider, LSx's aren't your Grandfathers truck motor.. They've been almost identical motors from conception to the late 90s until the Gen III SBC where the only retention of design is the bore spacing -- Redesigned from the ground up. All aluminum motors, even though its physically larger don't weigh quite what old iron motors run. You'd be surprised how light they really are.

An LS1 weighs close to 500 lbs with manifolds and all accessories. That's an extra 150 lbs over the stock engine. A Rover V8 on the other hand, is about 375 lbs with two turbos hanging off the sides, which is the same as a turbo B6 or BP. And the power potential is the same as an NA LS1, depending on how crazy you want to get with boost.

Dont get me wrong, an LSx miata is awesome on many levels, but in my book, this is the conversion I would do if were building an all-out miata based track car. This is miataturbo.net after all, which is why i suggested this in the first place.

I say keep it turbo till you're out of college.(Just think of all the poor saps in college that WISH their miata was turbo...)

My freshman year in college was like 10 times harder than High school. I thought it was soooo hard. Second year made the first year look like a summer class. Studying EVER DAY weekends included. Freshman year I would drive home ever week. I go nowhere now. Third year right now and it pretty much takes all my time. I don't even have a job outside of school. I was on campus today from 7:45 to 5:40 and I may be going back if we get a study group going again. There's no way I could do a V8 swap while in the middle of school.

But if you are dead set on it, at least buy everything before you begin the build. I wouldn't count on selling parts of your current setup to cover the cost. Get the drivetrain, get the kit, and keep buying stuff till you got 90% of it. Then tear it down if you must.

An LS1 weighs close to 500 lbs with manifolds and all accessories. That's an extra 150 lbs over the stock engine. A Rover V8 on the other hand, is about 375 lbs with two turbos hanging off the sides, which is the same as a turbo B6 or BP. And the power potential is the same as an NA LS1, depending on how crazy you want to get with boost.

Dont get me wrong, an LSx miata is awesome on many levels, but in my book, this is the conversion I would do if were building an all-out miata based track car. This is miataturbo.net after all, which is why i suggested this in the first place.
/threadjack

This ever been done in a Miata that you know of? What is the displacement of those motors and how big are they in comparison to say..an LS1 (any chance of one fitting with those turbos still hanging off the sides?)

This ever been done in a Miata that you know of? What is the displacement of those motors and how big are they in comparison to say..an LS1 (any chance of one fitting with those turbos still hanging off the sides?)

Several have been done, at least 1 turbo'd. Search m.net for threads and info.

I have contemplated this over and over in my head....... It NEEDS to be done on my Black car.... and it WILL BE done..... in good time. I like the idea of saving up for the motor and tranny, ecu and diff, and only when you can purchase all that, making the decision to tear the car down and part out to finance the subframes and whatnot. Perhaps that is what I'll do....